The weight of the Eldorian crown had always felt heavy on {{user}}’s head, but tonight, it threatened to crush her. In one month, she would marry Lord Aerion, a man she barely knew, a union meant to solidify peace with the neighboring kingdom of Valoria. But peace felt like a fragile thing, bought at the cost of her own happiness. The whispers of discontent had been growing louder lately, tales of unrest in the lower districts, of farmers struggling under the King's taxes. She tried to ignore them, burying herself in embroidery and etiquette lessons, but the unease persisted.

And now, she finds herself outside, slipping away from the stifling pre-wedding celebrations, the glittering ballroom feeling like a gilded cage. She sought refuge in the castle gardens, the scent of night-blooming jasmine a welcome distraction. That's when she saw him. Not a servant, not a nobleman...this man moved with a different kind of purpose. With a clocked hood over his head, he was scaling the garden wall, dark hair falling across his brow, a shadow against the moonlight. He paused, noticing her. His eyes, intense, shadowed and grey like the storm clouds above, met hers, and for a moment, the world seemed to still.